Killer Stunts, Inc. a comic series proposal that was previewed at the ’03 San Diego Comic-Con by creator Scott Alan Kinney and then optioned for film/TV development by Chuck Gordon’s Daybreak Prods. and Adrian Askarieh’s Prime Universe Prods., is set for anofficial series launch with comic book publisher DPG Visions. DPG Visions co-founder Leo Partible has teamed with Kinney as co-writer on the series, and co-producer on the in-development film. Artist Scott Cohn has joined the publishing team as the book’s new interior pencil artist, and comic newcomer Francisco Rivera will provide the first issue’s cover.

The series tells the story of Billy Andrews, a Hollywood stuntman who is struggling to keep his fledgling stunt company, Killer Stunts, Inc., afloat in the new age of CGI-dominated special effects. As a result, Billy takes an assignment from a covert government agency, not knowing he is being used as a pawn in a vast conspiracy. In over his head, the daredevil-for-hire re-teams with his former mentor, John Lynch, an aging legend in the stunt community, and is forced to utilize all his “tricks of the trade” to not only stay alive, but to stop the bad guys from pulling off a major heist.

Kinney and Partible wrote the initial film treatments under the supervision of producers Gordon and Askarieh during the first phase of the film’s development process. Gordon, whose producer credits include Die Hard and Field of Dreams, and Askarieh are also currently prepping the Universal picture “Spy-Hunter” for a 2004 start date with The Rock attached to star and John Woo attached to direct. The next development phase for Killer Stunts, Inc. was accomplished when the producers brought in a screenwriter and director to collaborate on the project. Kinney and Partible then turned and adapted their screen treatment into a comic book mini-series.

Kinney brought in Scott Cohn, a talented comic book and advertising illustrator, to pencil the interior art at the high recommendation of respected artist and comic industry veteran, Kieron Dwyer. “Kieron has worked for more than a decade for all the major comic publishers, so when he recommended Scott Cohn, I took him very seriously,” said Kinney. “When I saw Scott’s samples, I was impressed. When I saw how incredibly good the first Killer Stunts pages Scott turned in were, and how fast he rendered them, I was blown away.”

Some of Cohn’s advertising clients include Sony, Time, Inc., HBO, Miramax, DC Comics, and Conde Naste (with Robert Crumb). Cohn’s award-winning work on Behind the Music that Sucks for Heavy.com can now be seen on the Fuse network. In addition to Killer Stunts, Inc., Cohn is illustrating Tales of the TNMT for Mirage Comics. Samples of the artist’s work are available at his official website.

Rounding out the publishing team is digital artist Francisco Rivera. Francisco, who has not previously worked for a comic publisher, is in the commercial illustration field with clients such as the Teutuls’ Orange County Chopper. Kinney, who stumbled across the illustrator’s work online, commented: “The work Francisco has done for the Killer Stunts, Inc. comic shows he has great potential as comic book cover artist in the industry. Not only that, I think he has the potential to do feature film work as a concept and promotional artist. There have already been inquiries from Hollywood about his services.”

Working with his DPG Visions partners, the Dabel brothers (DB Pro), and Underworld writer/producer/star, Kevin Grevioux, Partible is prepping a DPG Visions preview book for publication in time for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (July 22-25). Pages from the upcoming Killer Stunts, Inc. series will be included in this promotional publication and displayed at the DPG Visions Comic-Con booth.